Nurturing Pacific and Indigenous aquaculture

Dr Satya Nandlal of the Queensland University of Technology, with the highly produtive Machrobrachium rosenbergii prawn from Vietnam that was tested under Fijian aquaculture conditions (Photo: R. Markham)

A session on aquaculture development by Pacific Islanders and Indigenous Australians is being sponsored by ACIAR and the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) at the Australasian Aquaculture 2012 conference in Melbourne on Thursday 3 May 2012.

A number of speakers will share their experiences and insights on how successful relationships and frameworks have been built to support economic growth and deliver social outcomes through aquaculture. The session will also highlight potential commercial linkages and opportunities for development.

ACIAR’s Fisheries Research Program Manager Dr Chris Barlow says the aim of the session is to showcase the aspirations and achievements of communities, businesses, agencies and researchers in developing aquaculture and related fisheries. “Some of the speakers will be giving in an insight into ACIAR projects that have been underway in Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and also in Australia."

More Information: Australasian Aquaculture 2012: http://www.australian-aquacultureportal.com/

PACIFIC & INDIGENOUS AQUACULTURE Thursday 3 May, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

How can governments better support indigenous aquaculture enterprise development? – past evidence points to a better approach (Ann Fleming, NT Fisheries)

Maori in aquaculture - ko te pae tawhiti whaia kia tata, seek out the distant horizons (Francene Wineti, Basil Tapuke, Takutai Trust)

Investment opportunities in aquaculture in Pacific island nations (Satya Nandlal, Queensland University of Technology)

Climate change and aquaculture in the tropical Pacific (Johann Bell, Timothy Pickering, Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

Community engagement in a successful commercial pearl farming venture in Fiji (Justin Hunter, J. Hunter Pearls, Jamie Whitford Pacific Agribusiness Research for Development Initiative)

A participatory 'bottom up' program of aquaculture enterprise development on Goulburn Island, NT (Wayne Tupper)

Mini-projects, an innovative approach to support sustainable aquaculture development in the Pacific islands and tropical Australia (Cathy Hair, Paul Southgate, James Cook University, Ben Ponia, Cook Islands Ministry of Marine Resources)

Value adding of mother of pearl shell jewellery and wooden handicrafts in Fiji (Anand Chand University of the South Pacific)

Role of public-private partnerships,, lead farmers, and smallfarmer cluster groups, in the expansion of economically viable inland aquaculture in Papua New Guinea (Jacob Wani, PNG National Fisheries Authority)

Aquatic biodiversity management for sustainable aquaculture development (Ruth Garcia Gomez)

Aquaculture and food security in Solomon Islands (Chris Paul, Michael Phillips Anne-Maree Schwarz, WorldFish Center, Tim Pickering, Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

Spawning and larval rearing of the monkey river prawn macrobrachium lar in the Fiji Islands (Timothy Pickering, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Monal Lal, Johnson Seeto University of the South Pacific)

Tagging of the sandfish holothuria scabra for restocking in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (Masahiro Ito, College of Micronesia Land Grant Program)

The Australian Government's seasonal worker program: an opportunity for aquaculture enterprises to employ Pacific islanders and East Timorese (Mark Roddam, Susannah Smith, Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations)